FAQ: Anti-Lock Brakes and/or Traction Control Light/Lamp On

Yep. The traction control is quite touchy. Look how fast it engages when you attempt to smoke the tires.....Mine comes on even from a 55 roll, like getting onto the freeway. If I hammer it to catch up to traffic the dumb thing engages. I know the tires aren't spinning, but they must have just enough slip for TC engagement.

well the new ECU sorted the traction light! the light did come back on with the SES lamp with ABS out of range and batt voltage but probably because i put the car in reverse to pull away.

codes were cleared and havent returned 12 mile drive to work. not bad for 80 bucks....

Nigel

So you've had the ABS light come on since you've swapped the PCM? Let us know if it comes back.

Wow, that was one hell of a mess

A mess was true! I dont know what caused it all to sort of fail in one go! niggly faults ...so... 60 miles and no ABS,TC or SES lamp ...

Fingers crossed the batt voltage is not causing burnout of the ecu an alternator can push out a few volts and at some mighty current.

nigelf wrote:

Fingers crossed the batt voltage is not causing burnout of the ecu an alternator can push out a few volts and at some mighty current.

Only if you have a bad regulator / rectifier. Easy enough to test if you feel like removing and opening up the Alternator.

both lights just lit this weekend. Just did brake change (lights on before that), so I cleaned each sensor...

Car drives just fine, but lights are on. Anyone have both lights go on? I'm thinking a hub,, but maybe someone had this happen too... and it was something else...

thoughts?


Gracias

If it's a wheel speed sensor (hub) both lights should come on. That's what happened to mine.

Most likley a hub. I FINALLY got my problem solved. After replacing the 2 front hubs that were making noise I found the problem to be the rear driver's side sensor. Luckily one of the sensors from the front was apparently not bad so I used that to "test" the remaing rear sensors until I found the one triggering the light.

how much are hubs? Would a diagnositic at Meineke (they can pull ABS codes) show WHICH hub it is?

Natesriv wrote:

how much are hubs? Would a diagnositic at Meineke (they can pull ABS codes) show WHICH hub it is?

You can buy a Timken (USA Made) through Rock Auto for about $115.00 plus shipping. This is one of those parts that you don't want to save money by buying a Chinese one for $50.00. Just not worth the aggravation of premature failure.
If you are going to pay the shop to do the whole job, First insist on an American Made Hub and bearing Assembly (Timken) and be prepared to pay twice as much for the part.

The second part of your question = Yes, of course. Otherwise you would be changing hubs blindly hoping to find the bad one. You may find that it is just a broken wire coming from one of the hubs. The speed sensors are built into the hubs and are not serviceable separately.

Timken will read ABS codes?

Timken is the name of the manufacturer of the Hub and Bearing assembly.
It is not a tool.

And don't waste yout time with one of those Actron brand ABS scanners you see at autozone or advance. They don't support our cars. Its worth getting scanned, although if you have a bearing that is making noise you might want to replace it as theres a good chance its the culprit.

Yeah...I need to fix the s/c noise first, then to Meineke for the scan...then a new hub(s) I suppose...

but what I REALLY NEED.... a new pearl white hood. The paint is coming off in chunks right now...

That hub growl can put you in "tennis shoe" mode real fast. I'd fix that first.....

"tennis shoe mode" lol

I've now got an ABS light that turns on as soon as I hit 15mph, every time. Always off at start up. Guess I'll be checking connectors when I find time.

Funny, after 2 days, my ABS light is off again... immediately after I experienced a very hard brake pedal for just a split second. Backed foot off brake then pushed again and it was normal.

You need to pull the code(s) man......Hard pedal then normal pedal may be something other than a hub.....

Dave, you and I are experiencing near the exact same issue. Mine used to come on once every week or two, then would be fine for a while. Then it started happening more often. I noticed it would usually come on when I hit a bump on the driver side of the car - had to hit a good one to set it off.

Now it's almost always on, even when I first start the car. I'm trying to decide if the bumps on the driver side were significant or not. The front driver hub was replaced last year, but the rears are original. Also the ABS module is on the driver side as well. I do get the odd brake activity (hard pedal) very rarely though - it's like the pedal is testing the ABS system, or thinks the wheels are spinning when they're not. I'm tempted to replace the rear bearings, just not 100% sure yet, and they aren't cheap. Other than the ABS issue, the rear bearings seem fine.

I also need to check the wiring to the speed sensors. Bumps could cause the wires to move, setting off the light. I think I may take it in to the dealer and see what they want to read any hidden codes. May be easy to diagnose the issue that way.

Bumps have had nothing to do with my ABS light turning on. For 2 or 3 days now, it's been coming on exactly when I hit 15mph, not sooner or later. If I idle around a parking lot after starting the car, the light stays off.

My hard pedal has actually happened since I bought the car what... 4yrs ago? But very rarely, maybe 3 times in a year and not repetitive, just once and done followed by normal brake function.

I'll find time to worry about codes when I have some time off work. Are these type of codes stored after the light has stayed off?

1998 Riv wrote:

I'll find time to worry about codes when I have some time off work. Are these type of codes stored after the light has stayed off?

Yes. They will be stored as History DTC's. You will probably have between a C1221 and C1237. Those and all between are WSS codes.

Quote :

My hard pedal has actually happened since I bought the car what... 4yrs ago? But very rarely, maybe 3 times in a year and not repetitive, just once and done followed by normal brake function.

Same with mine. It happened maybe once or twice per year - I thought it was some kind of periodic ABS check. But now that the ABS light is on, it's much more frequent. It's only a single incident, followed by normal braking function.

I want to get mine fixed before fall. Whenever the ABS light comes on, the ABS system is disabled, so your brakes become unsafe in a panic stop or on slippery surfaces. Will let you know what I find out.

1998 Riv wrote:

I've now got an ABS light that turns on as soon as I hit 15mph, every time. Always off at start up. Guess I'll be checking connectors when I find time.

Funny, after 2 days, my ABS light is off again... immediately after I experienced a very hard brake pedal for just a split second. Backed foot off brake then pushed again and it was normal.

Ironically, you are describing both modes of the same (normal) occurrence, you lucky devil...

Allowing for speedometer error, that is the speed (12MPH) that the system performs its self-test on each driving cycle, so that is when it would throw a code if something fails the test.

If, however, you have your foot on the brake at that speed when things are working correctly, you will feel a pedal that goes hard much higher than usual, because you are catching the isolation-valve and TC-pump test... In fact, if the radio and A/C are off, you should be able to hear the pump motor run for a second or two at that moment. This part is normal, and always disappears as soon as you release the brake pressure.

As previously mentioned, though, you will have to read the codes to find out what is failing the test when the light comes on (and unfortunately I'm thinking $$$... either the EBTCM or the pump/valve assembly...)
.

AA wrote:

Whenever the ABS light comes on, the ABS system is disabled, so your brakes become unsafe in a panic stop or on slippery surfaces.

...or you have to remember what life was like before abs and pump your own brakes.